My home computer has been infected with the nefarious Antivirus XP 2008
maleware virus since last weekend. I have not had access to the FML or
my home email account since then and therefore, did not see the post
someone referred to wondering why those of us who had made comments
about Alex had not responded. I lost those several days of FML and am
only able to access today's FML from the server so am assuming the
question at issue is one I extrapolated from another post, i.e.:

>Here is my question. How was I supposed to know that Allis would kill?

My response is that there is no way you could have known if you don't
assume that dogs retain their ancestral instinct to kill small animals.
The belief that domestication had eradicated that instinct might have
guided you. I do not think for an instant that you intentionally set
out to have your dog kill your ferret. However, as someone else, who is
experienced with both species pointed out - a ferret that is nipping a
dog repeatedly is setting the scene for retaliation.

I do believe that even domesticated animals retain basic instincts
We can change the way they look and to a degree influence their
temperament but basic instincts are part of their inherent genetic set
and not changeable except over millenia. Ferrets by nature are also
predators hence I would not trust a ferret in the home with a rodent
or a bird anymore than I would trust a dog not to react by instinct to
kill a small animal or even a human IF sufficiently provoked. NOTE I
did not say that people should not have dogs.

I know we find examples of prey and predators living together. The
internet is replete with examples. What we don't hear about very often
are examples of such combinations that end tragically except in the
case where a dog has attacked a child or its owner. The woman in France
whose beloved and gentle labrador ate half her face while she slept is
an example. We can speculate what might have caused the dog to do such
a horrible thing but in truth we'll never know for certain because the
dog would never be able to tell us. All we know is the human's side of
the story.

However, it stands to reason that a tormented animal is going to react
eventually in a way consistent with its own nature.

Tressie

[Posted in FML 6097]